Shell-feeding mechanism for cartridge-loading machines



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet- 1.

' O. S. HISEY. SHELL FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CARTRIDGE LOADING MACHINES.No. 528,095, Patented O0t.'23, 1894.

affozneqo THE "cams Pnzns co. PNOTO-LITHLL. WASNINGTON, o. c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. O. S. HISEY.

SHELL FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CARTRIDGE IYOADING MACHINES.

Patented O0 t.'23,1894.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES S. HISEY, OF AURQRA, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO ELLIOTT S. RICE.

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHELLFEEDING' MECHANISM FOR CARTRIDGE-LOADING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 528,095, dated October23, 1894.

Application filed March 19, 18 94- Serial No. 504,186. (No model-l Toall whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. HISEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Aurora, in the county of Dearb'orn and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shell-FeedingMechanism for Cartridge-Loading Machines; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full,

clear, and exact description of theinvention,-

IO such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in cartridge loading machinery andit consists in an improved device for feeding empty cartridge shellsinto the shell feeding tubes which are used in connection with allautomatic cartridge loading machines, which will hereinafter be fullydescribed, and particu- 2o larly pointed out in the claims.

In automatic cartridge loading machines, by the operation of which anumber of shells are loaded each minute, it is necessary to provide somemeans for automatically feeding the shells into the shell feeding tubesprovided with such machines, as such feeding tubes must always beprovided with empty shells so that the shell carrier will be properlysupplied, and not only is placing 0 the shells into the feeding tubes byhand laborious,in that it requires constant attention, but there isalikelihood for mistake presented in hand feeding which is not foundwhen the feeding is accomplished by automatic means.

5 In automatic machines which have been devised for accomplishing thefeeding and delivery of empty cartridge shells into the shell feedingtubes of cartridge loading machines,

it is common to make use of a rotating endno less belt to carry theshells from ahopper in which a number of shells are placed, to themouthof the shell-feeding tube. Through suitable appliances, shells aredeposited at a predetermined rate upon the surface of said 5 belt, andthe belt is so arranged in connection with the shell-feeding tube, thatthe shells which fall from said belt into the mouth of the said tube,always fallwith theirbutt ends downward, thus insuring theirbeinginproper position to receive every load. The chief diificulty, which ismet with in the use of such automatic shell carrier devices, has been toprovide means for removing the so called riders or extra shells, whichare carried along by the belt on top of other shells, and 5 which,unless removed, are apt to clog the shell-feeding tube.

My invention consists in a new device which I have constructed foraccomplishing the removal of these riders. I make use of a reciprocatingbrush operating crosswise of the endless rotating belt, and sufficientlyremoved from its surface so that the ends of the bristles of the brushare just high enough from the surface of the belt not to interfere witha single line of shells carried on said belt. This brush in itsreciprocating movement acts to sweep off any riders which may be carriedup the surface of thebelt by other shells, and on the returnmovemeut of7c the brush to deposit the rider shell, which has been pushed up intoits bristles, upon the moving surface of the belt, the construction ofthe brush being such as to permit this action to take place. I shalldescribe in" connection witnthis brush, the machine on which I use it,in order that its mode ofoperation may be fully understood. Ido notlimit .myself to its use on cartridge loading machines, bnt may use itinconnection with any other form of carrier belt.

My invention is fully described in the drawings accompanying and formingapart of this application, in which the same reference numerals refer.to the same or corresponding parts, and in which- Figure 1 is a sideview of my feeding device, partly in section. Fig. 2 is a .top plan viewof such device. Fig. 3 is a section of Fig. 1, taken on the line a: w,and looking in go the direction of the arrow. Fig.4 is a detailperspective view of the reciprocatingbrush.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the endless rotating b'elt upon thesurface of which are carried the empty cartridge shells. It passes 5 atone end over the wheel 2 on the power shaft of the machine 3, upon whichisinounted the driving wheel, and at its other end over the pulleys 4and 5, which are journaled in the standard 6. This belt-is of a widthnot too much exceeding that of a single cartridge shell, and the daringprojecting flanges of the piece 7, which extends the whole length of thebelt, form as it were, sides between which the belt runs. Directly overthe end of the belt passing around the pulley 2 is supported a hopper 8,into which shells are discharged .by the endless belt 9, which carriesthe shells up, by means of a series ofpins formed at regular intervalsonits surface, from a neighboring hopper 10, into which the shells aredumped promiscuously. This belt runs over the two wheels 11 and 12, andit is caused to rotate by reason of the wheel 11, which is the lower ofthe two wheels over which it runs, be-

ing formed with a worm gear, which engages with a corresponding gearupon the power shaft. I Inthismanner the ratio of speed between the twotraveling belts can be adj usted at will. It is desirable that belt 9have a much slower speed of rotation than the main belt 1, as it isalways an object in such devices as the present one not to delivertheshells into the hopper through which the main belt runs any faster thanthey are therewanted. The relatively broad surface of the belt 9 permitsa number of shells to be carried up at the same time by the pins formedon the surface of the same. To prevent shells from d-rppping out throughthe opening formed at the bottom of the hopper through which the belt 9runs during the interval between the passage of the series of teethprojecting from the surface of the belt, projecting pins are formed onthe edge of this opening which extend nearly to the surface of the belt9, and intermesh with the teeth formed on the same, thus effectuallypreventing shells from dropping from the hopper.

The shells which are carried up by the belt 9 are deposited in thehopper through which the belt 1 passes, fall upon its surface and travelalong with the belt.. Due to the butt end being heavier, most of theshells travel with'their butt ends foremost. It might happen that oneshell would fall on top of another and he carried with it' in thisposition, and to pfevent these riders from clogging the mouth of theshell feeding tube, I provide a reciprocating brush 15, situatedsomewhere along the upward travel of the belt, which acts to sweep offany such riders, as it is supported by the brackets 16 above the surfaceof the belt only sutficiently far to permit a. single shell to pass, andat the return movement of the brush to deposit the shell, which .hadbeen pushed up into its bristles, upon the moving surface of the belt,the conkeyed thereon the pulley 20, rotated by the belt 21. In thismanner a reciprocating movement is provided for the=brush 15, which maybe made of any desired rapidity by varying the ratio of the pulleywheels by which its operation is caused.

The single shells passing from under the reciprocating brush are carrieddown to the end of the belt. Their momentum causesthem to tend tocontinue orrin a straight line, but if the butt end of the shell isforemost,its

weight causes it to fall, at once into the flaring mouth of the feedingtube 25, and if its open end is foremost, the shell flies onward untilthe said open nd has passed the mouth of the feeding tube, when theweight of the butt end causes the shell to drop as before into thefeeding tube. No matter in what position the shell advances along thesurface of the rotating belt 1, it thus falls into the shell feedingtube 25 with its butt end downward, the desired position.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with ahopper, a trough having inclined sides, anendless rotating belt moving in the bottom of the trough, and ashellfeeding tube, of a reciprocating brush, operating cross-wise of thebelt, but sufficiently removed from the surface thereof to brush awaythe rider shells, and replace them on the belt at the nextreciprocation,

and means for operating the same, substantially as described.

2. The combination-with a hopper, an endless rotating belt, and afeeding tube, of a brush acting across the face of thebelt and having alug formed on one end, and a rotating shaft, having a cam groove formedthereon in which the said lug works, for-imparting a reciprocatingmovement to said brush, substantiaily as described.

In testimony whereof Iaflix my signature'in presence of two witnesses. v

CHARLES S. H'ISEY.

Witnesses:

J. Lows: WHITE, JOSEPH D. W001).

ICC

